GAO Calls for a Stronger Federal Role in Electronics Recycling

With an estimated 100 million or more computers, monitor and televisions becoming obsolete yearly, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked by some members of Congress to prepare a report that examines the factors affecting the recycling and reuse of electronics and the federal efforts underway to encourage recycling and reuse.

The GAO’s study finds that the cost and inconvenience associated with electronics recycling and reuse act as inhibitors. According to the study, such fees are necessary because recyclers’ and refurbishers’ costs exceed their revenue from the commodities generated or the sale of the refurbished units.

“In addition to these economic factors, federal regulatory requirements provide little incentive for environmentally preferable management of used electronics,” the GAO’s report goes on to state. The report states that the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act permits individuals and households to dispose of many electronics in landfills and that federal regulations do not provide a financing system to offset the economic factors that deter reuse and recycling of electronics.

Finally, the report points out that “federal regulations do not prevent the exportation of used electronics to countries where disassembly takes place at far lower cost, but where disassembly practices may threaten human health and the environment.”

In response to its findings, the GAO recommends that the EPA propose options to Congress for a nationwide financing system for electronics recycling, promote wider federal agency participation in programs such as Plug Into Recycling and the Federal Electronics Challenge and take steps to ensure safe exportation of these products.

According to the GAO’s report, the EPA agrees to the recommendation concerning export, however, the agency disagrees with the other recommendations.